Office of Readings

If you have already recited the Invitatory Psalm today, you should use the alternative opening.

O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Come, let us worship Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us acclaim God our salvation.
Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks, let us acclaim him with songs.

Come, let us worship Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

For the Lord is a great God, a king above all gods.
For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands, and the peaks of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his: he made it; and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

Come, let us worship and bow down, bend the knee before the Lord who made us;
for he himself is our God and we are his flock, the sheep that follow his hand.

Come, let us worship Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

If only, today, you would listen to his voice: “Do not harden your hearts
as you did at Meribah, on the day of Massah in the desert, when your fathers tested me –
they put me to the test, although they had seen my works.”

Come, let us worship Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

“For forty years they wearied me, that generation.
I said: their hearts are wandering, they do not know my paths.
I swore in my anger: they will never enter my place of rest.

Come, let us worship Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 2
The Messiah, king and victor
Why are the nations in a ferment? Why do the people make their vain plans? The kings of the earth have risen up; the leaders have united against the Lord, against his anointed. “Let us break their chains, that bind us; let us throw off their yoke from our shoulders!” The Lord laughs at them, he who lives in the heavens derides them. Then he speaks to them in his anger; in his fury he throws them into confusion: “But I – I have set up my king on Sion, my holy mountain.” I will proclaim the Lord’s decrees. The Lord has said to me: “You are my son: today I have begotten you. Ask me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of the earth for you to possess. You will rule them with a rod of iron, break them in pieces like an earthen pot.” So now, kings, listen: understand, you who rule the land. Serve the Lord in fear, tremble even as you praise him. Learn his teaching, lest he take anger, lest you perish when his anger bursts into flame. Blessed are all who put their trust in the Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 2

The Messiah, king and victor

Why are the nations in a ferment? Why do the people make their vain plans?

The kings of the earth have risen up; the leaders have united against the Lord, against his anointed.
“Let us break their chains, that bind us; let us throw off their yoke from our shoulders!”

The Lord laughs at them, he who lives in the heavens derides them.
Then he speaks to them in his anger; in his fury he throws them into confusion:
“But I – I have set up my king on Sion, my holy mountain.”

I will proclaim the Lord’s decrees.
The Lord has said to me: “You are my son: today I have begotten you.
Ask me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of the earth for you to possess.
You will rule them with a rod of iron, break them in pieces like an earthen pot.”

So now, kings, listen: understand, you who rule the land.
Serve the Lord in fear, tremble even as you praise him.
Learn his teaching, lest he take anger, lest you perish when his anger bursts into flame.

Blessed are all who put their trust in the Lord.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 71 (72)
The Messiah's royal power
Give the king your judgement, O God, give the king’s son your righteousness. Let him judge your people with justice and your poor ones with wisdom. Let the mountains bring peace to your people, let the hills bring righteousness. He will give his judgement to the poor among the people, he will rescue the children of the destitute, he will lay low the false accuser. He will endure with the sun, beneath the moon, from generation to generation. He will come down like rain on the pasture, like a shower that waters the earth. In his time, righteousness will flourish and abundance of peace, until the moon itself is no more. He will rule from coast to coast, from the world’s centre to its farthest edge. The desert-dwellers will cast themselves down before him; his enemies will eat dust at his feet. The kings of Tharsis and the islands will bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts. All the kings will worship him, all nations will serve him. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 71 (72)

The Messiah's royal power

Give the king your judgement, O God,
give the king’s son your righteousness.
Let him judge your people with justice
and your poor ones with wisdom.

Let the mountains bring peace to your people,
let the hills bring righteousness.
He will give his judgement to the poor among the people,
he will rescue the children of the destitute,
he will lay low the false accuser.
He will endure with the sun, beneath the moon,
from generation to generation.

He will come down like rain on the pasture,
like a shower that waters the earth.
In his time, righteousness will flourish
and abundance of peace,
until the moon itself is no more.
He will rule from coast to coast,
from the world’s centre to its farthest edge.

The desert-dwellers will cast themselves down before him;
his enemies will eat dust at his feet.
The kings of Tharsis and the islands will bring tribute,
the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts.
All the kings will worship him,
all nations will serve him.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 71 (72)
Because he has given freedom to the destitute who called to him, to the poor, whom no-one will hear. He will spare the poor and the needy, he will keep their lives safe. He will rescue their lives from oppression and violence, their blood will be precious in his sight. He will live long, and receive gifts of gold from Arabia; they will pray for him always, bless him all through the day. There will be abundance of grain in the land, it will wave even from the tops of the mountains; its fruit will be richer than Lebanon. The people will flourish as easily as grass. Let his name be blessed for ever, let his name endure beneath the sun. All the nations of the earth will be blessed in him, all nations will acclaim his greatness. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders. Let his majesty be blessed for ever; let it fill all the earth. Amen, amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 71 (72)

Because he has given freedom to the destitute who called to him,
to the poor, whom no-one will hear.
He will spare the poor and the needy,
he will keep their lives safe.
He will rescue their lives from oppression and violence,
their blood will be precious in his sight.

He will live long, and receive gifts of gold from Arabia;
they will pray for him always,
bless him all through the day.
There will be abundance of grain in the land,
it will wave even from the tops of the mountains;
its fruit will be richer than Lebanon.
The people will flourish as easily as grass.

Let his name be blessed for ever,
let his name endure beneath the sun.
All the nations of the earth will be blessed in him,
all nations will acclaim his greatness.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone works wonders.
Let his majesty be blessed for ever;
let it fill all the earth. Amen, amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Reading	Apocalypse 1:4-6,10,12-18,2:26,28,3:5,12,20-21 ©
Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven spirits in his presence before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It was the Lord’s day and the Spirit possessed me, and I heard a voice behind me, shouting like a trumpet, I turned round to see who had spoken to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands and, surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a golden girdle. His head and his hair were white as white wool or as snow, his eyes like a burning flame, his feet like burnished bronze when it has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of the ocean. In his right hand he was holding seven stars, out of his mouth came a sharp sword, double-edged, and his face was like the sun shining with all its force. When I saw him, I fell in a dead faint at his feet, but he touched me with his right hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld. To those who prove victorious, and keep working for me until the end, which I myself have been given by my Father, to rule them with an iron sceptre and shatter them like earthenware. And I will give him the Morning Star. I shall not blot their names out of the book of life, but acknowledge their names in the presence of my Father and his angels. Those who prove victorious I will make into pillars in the sanctuary of my God, and they will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well. Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal, side by side with him. Those who prove victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I was victorious myself and took my place with my Father on his throne.

Reading

Apocalypse 1:4-6,10,12-18,2:26,28,3:5,12,20-21 ©

Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven spirits in his presence before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
It was the Lord’s day and the Spirit possessed me, and I heard a voice behind me, shouting like a trumpet, I turned round to see who had spoken to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands and, surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a golden girdle. His head and his hair were white as white wool or as snow, his eyes like a burning flame, his feet like burnished bronze when it has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of the ocean. In his right hand he was holding seven stars, out of his mouth came a sharp sword, double-edged, and his face was like the sun shining with all its force.
When I saw him, I fell in a dead faint at his feet, but he touched me with his right hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld. To those who prove victorious, and keep working for me until the end, which I myself have been given by my Father, to rule them with an iron sceptre and shatter them like earthenware. And I will give him the Morning Star. I shall not blot their names out of the book of life, but acknowledge their names in the presence of my Father and his angels. Those who prove victorious I will make into pillars in the sanctuary of my God, and they will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well. Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal, side by side with him. Those who prove victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I was victorious myself and took my place with my Father on his throne.

Reading	From a discourse of Origen on prayer
Thy kingdom come
The coming of the kingdom of God, says our Lord and Saviour, does not admit of observation, and there will be no-one to say “Look here! Look there!” For the kingdom of God is within us and in our hearts. And so it is beyond doubt that whoever prays for the coming of the kingdom of God within himself is praying rightly, praying for the kingdom to dawn in him, bear fruit and reach perfection. For God reigns in every saint, and every saint obeys God’s spiritual laws — God, who dwells in him just as he dwells in any well-ordered city. The Father is present in him and in his soul Christ reigns alongside the Father, as it is said: We will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Therefore, as we continue to move forward without ceasing, the kingdom of God within us will reach its perfection in us at that moment when the saying in the Apostle is fulfilled, that Christ, His enemies all made subject to Him, shall deliver the kingdom to God the Father that God may be All in All. For this reason let us pray without ceasing, our souls filled by a desire made divine by the Word Himself. Let us pray to our Father in heaven: hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come. There is something important that we need to understand about the kingdom of God: just as righteousness has no partnership with lawlessness, just as light has nothing in common with darkness and Christ has no agreement with Belial, so the kingdom of God and a kingdom of sin cannot co-exist. So if we want God to reign within us, on no account may sin rule in our mortal body but let us mortify our earthly bodies and let us be made fruitful by the Spirit. Then we will be a spiritual garden of Eden for God to walk in. God will rule in us with Christ who will be seated in us on the right hand of God — God, the spiritual power that we pray to receive — until he makes his enemies (who are within us) into his footstool and pours out on us all authority, all power, all strength. This can happen to any one of us and death, the last enemy may be destroyed, so that in us Christ says Death, where is your sting? Death, where is your victory? So let our corruptibility be clothed today with holiness and incorruption. With Death dead, let our mortality be cloaked in the Father’s immortality. With God ruling in us, let us be immersed in the blessings of regeneration and resurrection.

Reading

From a discourse of Origen on prayer

Thy kingdom come

The coming of the kingdom of God, says our Lord and Saviour, does not admit of observation, and there will be no-one to say “Look here! Look there!” For the kingdom of God is within us and in our hearts. And so it is beyond doubt that whoever prays for the coming of the kingdom of God within himself is praying rightly, praying for the kingdom to dawn in him, bear fruit and reach perfection. For God reigns in every saint, and every saint obeys God’s spiritual laws — God, who dwells in him just as he dwells in any well-ordered city. The Father is present in him and in his soul Christ reigns alongside the Father, as it is said: We will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Therefore, as we continue to move forward without ceasing, the kingdom of God within us will reach its perfection in us at that moment when the saying in the Apostle is fulfilled, that Christ, His enemies all made subject to Him, shall deliver the kingdom to God the Father that God may be All in All.
For this reason let us pray without ceasing, our souls filled by a desire made divine by the Word Himself. Let us pray to our Father in heaven: hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come.
There is something important that we need to understand about the kingdom of God: just as righteousness has no partnership with lawlessness, just as light has nothing in common with darkness and Christ has no agreement with Belial, so the kingdom of God and a kingdom of sin cannot co-exist.
So if we want God to reign within us, on no account may sin rule in our mortal body but let us mortify our earthly bodies and let us be made fruitful by the Spirit. Then we will be a spiritual garden of Eden for God to walk in. God will rule in us with Christ who will be seated in us on the right hand of God — God, the spiritual power that we pray to receive — until he makes his enemies (who are within us) into his footstool and pours out on us all authority, all power, all strength.
This can happen to any one of us and death, the last enemy may be destroyed, so that in us Christ says Death, where is your sting? Death, where is your victory? So let our corruptibility be clothed today with holiness and incorruption. With Death dead, let our mortality be cloaked in the Father’s immortality. With God ruling in us, let us be immersed in the blessings of regeneration and resurrection.

Hymn	Te Deum
God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you! You, the Father, the eternal – all the earth venerates you. All the angels, all the heavens, every power – The cherubim, the seraphim – unceasingly, they cry: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts: heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!” The glorious choir of Apostles – The noble ranks of prophets – The shining army of martyrs – all praise you. Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you. – Father of immeasurable majesty, – True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship, – Holy Spirit, our Advocate. You, Christ: – You are the king of glory. – You are the Father’s eternal Son. – You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb. – You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you. – You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father. – You will come, so we believe, as our Judge. And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood. Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory. Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance. Rule them and lift them high for ever. Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever. Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us. Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you. In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.

Hymn

Te Deum

God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!
You, the Father, the eternal –
all the earth venerates you.
All the angels, all the heavens, every power –
The cherubim, the seraphim –
unceasingly, they cry:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!”

The glorious choir of Apostles –
The noble ranks of prophets –
The shining army of martyrs –
all praise you.
Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you.
– Father of immeasurable majesty,
– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,
– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.

You, Christ:
– You are the king of glory.
– You are the Father’s eternal Son.
– You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb.
– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.
– You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father.
– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.

And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.
Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory.
Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance.
Rule them and lift them high for ever.

Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever.
Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you.
In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.

A concluding prayer may follow here.

November 2008
Sat 22	Saint Cecilia, Virgin, Martyr
Sun 23	Christ the King
Mon 24	Saints Andrew Dung-Lac and his Companions, Martyrs
Tue 25	Tuesday of week 34 of the year or Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr
Wed 26
Thu 27
Fri 28
Sat 29
Sun 30	Advent Sunday

Calendar used: Europe - England - Westminster

Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. For on-line information about other Random House, Inc. books and authors, see the Internet web site at http://www.randomhouse.com.

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